With just two days remaining before the presidential election, Donald Trump expressed regret over leaving the White House following his 2020 defeat and made a controversial remark about reporters potentially facing violence. At a rally in Lititz, Pennsylvania, Trump revisited familiar themes from his past campaigns, focusing on his grievances against the media and the Democratic Party while attacking Kamala Harris.
During his speech, Trump initially adhered to his campaign message but soon fell back into old resentments, characterizing Democrats as “demonic” and lamenting his 2020 election loss. He declared, “We had the safest border in the history of our country the day that I left,” adding, “I shouldn’t have left,” before abruptly stopping his thought. This reflects his ongoing belief that he was unjustly defeated, a claim he has never conceded.
Despite his advisers’ hopes that he would shift focus away from the 2020 election, Trump could not resist reviving debunked conspiracy theories, suggesting that voting machines might be hacked and calling the push to extend polling hours in Pennsylvania fraudulent.
The former president also criticized a recent Des Moines Register poll showing him trailing Harris by four points in Iowa, asserting that it exemplified voter suppression and suggesting such tactics should be illegal.
Though Trump’s aides are reportedly optimistic about his prospects in battleground states, they acknowledge uncertainty about the election outcomes. Some internal polling indicates he could win five out of seven key states.
In a notable moment during his rally, Trump lashed out at the media, joking about their safety amid threats to his life. “To get to me, somebody would have to shoot through fake news, and I don’t mind that much,” he stated, drawing laughter from the crowd while speaking from behind bulletproof glass.
Following the rally, Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, claimed the comments were intended to highlight the dangers journalists face, referencing past assassination attempts on Trump. Cheung suggested that Trump’s remarks were misconstrued and emphasized that the former president was expressing concern for the media’s safety.